Suggestions for parliamentary reforms in 2015

Kenyans of all political persuasions will agree that the National Assembly finished 2014 at a low point unbefitting of an institution of its stature. Related events in the Senate served to amplify the sense that Parliament, as an institution, has lost its way and become a mere rubber stamp institution that takes its orders from elsewhere.

As a student of the Kenyan Parliament, I am of the view that the current problems experienced by ‘Bunge’ are a result of the confusing institutional structures created by the 2010 Constitution. As it is, Parliament is a hybrid of the American and British legislatures. Its legacy is singularly British, but with American adaptations. For instance, we have a rich parliamentary tradition of neutrality of the Speaker. This has been true from Humphrey Slade to the Solomonic Kenneth Marende. Even under Moi, speakers of the House did their best to make sure they projected a sense of neutrality.